BWW Reviews: TANYA MOBERLY is Terrific Tackling Tunes of New York Songwriters at Don't Tell Mama

Cabaret Reviews and Commentary by Stephen Hanks

It turns out that when it came to Tanya Moberly cabaret shows and this reviewer, the third time was the charm.

After being blown away by Moberly's powerful voice and stage presence when I first caught her one-song performances at the Sunday Salon Open Mics three years ago, I wasn't crazy about either of her full-blown cabaret shows the past two years (Tanya Moberly Sings Di Franco/Tanya Moberly Sings Jonatha Brooke in 2011 and Tanya Lorraine Moberly Sings Barbra Joan Streisand in 2012--in spite of her receiving MAC and BroadwayWorld.com Best Female Vocalist nominations for the latter). But her new show that opened this past Friday and Saturday nights at Don't Tell Mama, I Love New York Songwriters, pressed many of my cabaret buttons--in the best possible way. While there were still some minor flaws--owing to a certain stubbornness in her approach to a cabaret show--this eclectic set of original songs written by some of the city's best "unknown" composers was consistently entertaining. In this particular show, Ms. Moberly was Tanya Terrific.

The Salon Open Mic (hosted by Musical Director Mark Janas), for which Moberly became a producer in late 2009, has become one of the staples of the fascinating and in-clubby subculture that is New York City cabaret. Having won four successive MAC Awards for "Best Open Mic" (and a 2013 MAC for "Best Host" to Janas), The Salon has become the venue on Sunday nights (now at the Etcetera, Etcetera Restaurant on West 44th Street) where veteran performers, raw rookie singers, and reviewers who fancy themselves to be cabaret crooners (wink, wink) can strut their stuff in a non-judgmental, nurturing environment and with superb piano accompaniment from the supportive and convivial Mr. Janas. It's also a place where experienced and developing songwriters can try out new original turns and perhaps seduce singers in the Salon audience to embrace them for future shows. Many original songs introduced or cultivated at The Salon over the past few years have ended up in multiple shows and been nominated for various awards.

Hence, Moberly's new effort turned out to be an ideal fit, especially since she made savvy choices from the hundreds of songs she could choose from. Her 21-song set celebrated the work of 15 local writers (including herself) and ranged from the heartfelt to the humorous, featuring everything from sensitive ballads to wry up-tempo pop. The arrangements from Musical Director/Pianist Steven Ray Watkins served the songs (and Moberly's aggressive vocal style) extremely well. Matt Scharfglass on bass provided expert percussion work and the addition of Bradley Bosenbeck on violin (he's worked with Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra--hoo ha!) was an inspired decision and provided some of the songs with a new depth and dimension.

To the sensitive strains of Bosenbeck's violin, Moberly strutted to the stage in a short, black cocktail dress and black heels that showed off the luscious legs that I feel compelled to mention whenever I review one of her shows. I'm also compelled to write how off-putting it is to hear the F-word in a song lyric, as Moberly seems to insist on including almost every time she grabs a microphone. This time, however, she kinda got away with it, as the reference was part of her hilarious and provocative self-penned song "How I Wish," which continues with the words, " . . . I could f--k Sean Harkness." Harkness, you see, is one of cabaret's leading go-to guitarists and resident heartthrobs. While the subject of Moberly's desire is happily married to his lovely photographer wife, Taka, that didn't stop Tanya from fantasizing in song about a threesome. Despite the number being very inside New York cabaret (tourists from Tokyo who happened to drop in wouldn't have had a clue what Tanya was singing about), it was a big hit with the knowing Friday night audience--and I was laughing out loud.

Moberly, who usually eschews patter, probably said more after her opening salvo than she had in her last two shows combined. But after some self-deprecating remarks about her failed attempts at songwriting, and offering how her experiences at The Salon inspired her new show, she reverted to no-patter form, except for acknowledging the songwriters in that night's audience. In this case, the sparse script worked as Moberly was able to lengthen a set list that told a variety of stories on their own.

On Steven Lutvak's "I Wanted You To Know" and then "Inside My Body is a Dancer," Moberly transitioned from a strong, powerful vocal on a fun mid-tempo pop song to an evocative rendition of an intense ballad, the lyrics for which she clearly identified. Moberly never has a problem channeling her tough, inner rock and roll chick and she brought the appropriate ferocity in her interpretation of AC Haley's "Rageholic," before becoming more sensual and seductive on the bluesy "I'd Be Candy." On many songs that don't need pushing, Moberly's full blast vocals have a tendency toward strident, but on "Candy" and the clever mid-tempo Jill Sobule/David Hajdu song "Bad Idea," it was nice to hear her pull back and modulate the volume a bit. (Please click on Page 2 below to continue.)

The most entertaining section of this solid show began with Tim DiPasqua's "A Monster Under These Conditions." With words in the lyric such as "crazy," "demons," "tyrant," and "frightened," the tune was right up Moberly's abrasive alley, and featured a really cool arrangement and piano riffs from Watkins. Moberly then had some cheeky fun on two songs written by one of cabaret's most sought-after bass players, Ritt Henn (from his 2007 CD "Timber"). She brought a feminine touch to Henn's bouncy, bluesy pop tune "Range Rover (Through the Mud Called Love)," and totally nailed a great band and vocal arrangement of the be-boppy lounge song "Maintenance" (which sounds like a Randy Newman lyric to a Van Morrison melody), including goofing to great effect on Henn's original verse-ending scats. As if that wasn't wacky enough, Moberly got the audience to out-sing her on the chorus of Dan Furman's "The Pluto Song," a celestial protest ditty decrying the fact that "Pluto's not a planet anymore."

Including Mary Liz McNamara songs in a set with Ritt Henn tunes was very appropriate as the two singer/songwriters often perform together. Moberly mounted the piano and flashed some leg and a sense of humor on McNamara's too-clever-for-words "Haiku" (and I won't give away what makes the song such brainy fun), from Mary Liz's critically praised 2003 CD "Unhinged." The next section of ballads were solid, but not quite as effective as the previous up-tempo numbers. Richard Eisenberg's "Love Isn't Easy" featured a lovely arrangement and a beautiful violin solo from Bosenbeck, but Moberly's vocal was a bit harsh on a song that required more softness. And she fell somewhat short on the acting and emotion quotient for Bobbie Horowitz's evocative "Pictures of You," and Francesca Blumenthal's heart-tugging "Lies of Handsome Men."

But Moberly is a relentless performer and she came back strong and brought some emotion to Jeff Blumenkrantz' "Hold My Hand," before adding a delightfully cynical edge to Blumenkrantz' "Drink My Way," about a bitter person at a friend's wedding who gets exponentially angry through the song. With two terrific Bill Zeffiro tunes--"Better Than Nothing" and "I've Still Got New York"--Moberly couldn't have picked a more ideal New York songwriter to end her show. Zeffiro is a Salon regular whose songs conjure up Van Heusen, Sinatra, and all those macho music makers from the 1930s to the '50s all rolled up into one. "A 20-minute fling is better than nothing," Moberly sang, combining tough with tender on the first Zeffiro lyric. And this time around, Tanya Moberly's 80-minute show fling was better than good.

Tanya Moberly will be performing I Love New York Songwriters at Don't Tell Mama on Tuesday, December 3rd at 7pm & Wednesday, December 4th at 9:30pm. Reservations: 212-757-0788 (after 4pm) / www.donttellmamanyc.com

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